Of Crowns and Royal Blood
by girlwiththeblackinkpen
Summary: A dark tale of what happens when power-hungry people are given more power. Inspired by Game of Thrones. Part 1/3.


**Prompt: Game of Thrones inspired with the ATLA characters. No bending.**

* * *

BEFORE YOU BEGIN READING: _I have included an appendix at the bottom. It does not contain any spoilers, just for reference, like in the actual A Game of Thrones book(s). Below that is a list of non-canon characters that appear in this story, and below that are a list of story elements, small facts, inspirational things, etc. The story elements contain spoilers. This will be a three-part series._

* * *

**Part I: **_Of Birth Order and Politics_

* * *

_..._

_Long ago, the four nations lived in peace, and harmony. The Water Kingdoms, in the north and south. The Earth Kingdoms in the west. The Fir Nation in the east. And the Air Kingdom up in the high peaks of the North Eastern Mountain Range. All overlooked by the wise and powerful Avatars. However, the Fire Nation Lord of the time was the power-hungry and driven Azulon set out to wipe out the next Avatar._

_However, the dying Avatar of the time, Roku, foresaw the imminent danger his heir was placed in, and so only told a few trusted advisors the name of his heir._

_Roku was of Fire Nation descent, and as tradition dictated, the next Avatar was to be chosen from the Air Monarchs. _

_And so, Azulon wiped them all out._

_With no listed heir, the Avatar Monarchs and their following crumbled, and the four nations separated._

_However, rumors spread through the lands that the next Avatar had survived._

_And the Fire Nation is determined to wipe him out._

* * *

**Toph**

Toph swirls one end of the rice cake in the small plate of honey, a despondent and listless expression on her face. Her other hand is pressed firmly against the pink-colored swell of her left cheek, leaning firmly against it.

Eemi sweeps by, the perfectly starched corners of her dress making furious swishing sounds as she slams the broom she had been cleaning with on the table. Toph snaps up, a wary look in her pale-green, sightless eyes as she feels with her wodden staff for the source of the noise and finds Eemi's large, intimidating frame standing over her.

"You either eat it or you throw it away," Eemi says.

Toph rolls her eyes, and takes a large bite out of the white, squishy piece of rice cake and chews it slowly.

Eemi nods, satisfied, "Turn your head so I can redo your hair."

Toph complies, and Eemi runs a silver comb through the thick black strands, and then twists them up into a complicated array that pulls on the skin of Toph's neck. Toph scratches at it, uncomfortable with the prickling, but doesn't complain.

Toph hears the familiar _clacks _of her mother's high heel shoes. Eemi breathes out her nose heavily, and Toph tenses. The expression on her mother's face can't be very good…

"Toph, the guests arrived early. Eemi, stop doing that and get her upstairs," Toph's mother said, "I may have to show some of the lords and ladies around the castle and I don't want you seen."

Eemi nods, scooping up the hair supplies and pulling Toph up from the table at the same time. Toph makes to swat at Eemi's grasping hands, but she fails to do any damage and is whisked away through a back door and up a flight of stairs into her room.

Toph's own room is plain to the regular, seeing person, but to Toph's own special sight, a large series of tunnels and secret passageways dug out beneath provide an intricate pass time for the blind girl.

Eemi twists Toph's unruly hair into a plain braid, and nods, seemingly satisfied with her handiwork, "I'll be back with something for you to eat," she sighs, sending Toph a silent look of pity that Toph is unable to see, "Any requests?"

Toph shakes her head, "Just bring up whatever Cook's already made."

The door is slammed shut behind Eemi, and Toph wanders over to the large window, where the purple curtains where wrapped around the iron hook. Toph could hear the faint noises of horses and rolling carriages below.

Toph huffs, tugging at her braid absentmindedly. She senses Eemi coming back up with the tray and a bowl balanced on it, and she returns to her bed.

She tucks herself in among the covers, and Eemi knocks on the door three times before entering. Toph doesn't know why Eemi does that, she's one of the few that know that Toph can 'see' fine, but she supposes it must a formality that Eemi has to practice.

"The cook only had some broth but I brought some bread from the pantry for you to dip," Eemi says, setting down the metal tray on the wooden table in the center of Toph's room. She looks at Toph fleetingly, Eemi's plain brown eyes searching Toph's own glassy green-grey, "Could you eat by yourself, or do you want me to stay?"

"I can do it by myself," Toph says, scowling over her shoulder.

Eemi hesitates for a moment before, smoothing down Toph's hair, as if to comfort her. Toph shrugs away, but Eemi is not deterred, used to this behavior from Toph, "Your mother just wants to protect you."

Toph lets out an unladylike snort of derision, "Tch," she says, clicking her tongue, "I can protect myself."

Eemi smiles sympathetically at Toph, "I'm sure you can, little badgermole." Eemi stand, pinching Toph's rosy cheeks and then patting them, "Don't choke on your soup."

Toph thinks about doing so, just to spite her.

* * *

**Sokka**

Sokka's breath curls in the air, a thick white mist, and his cheeks and nosed flushed red from the piercing cold. His hair is blowing out of control, tendrils escaping from his ponytail, and he has to stop and pull his hood up every few minutes.

The sled he's dragging behind him is heavy with the weight of the dead elk on it. He can barely see two feet in front him, the icy tundra enveloped in a sea of icy white.

He trudges on, and through the screaming winds he can hear his boots crunching on the compact ice beneath him.

Their is a silhouette up ahead, a dark mass sitting on the horizon, and Sokka estimates it to be about thirty feet up ahead.

Suddenly filled with renewed energy, he tugs the sled hard towards the shelter, choosing to wait it out until the storm passes. He'll just take a short nap for a few hours and then get back to it.

The cave is cool, but not freezing like the outside, so Sokka pulls out some dry sticks from his bag he had hidden under his cloak and starts a fire. He makes use of the last of his rations as well, stuffing them in his mouth and then licking his fingers for good measure.

He leans against the moist cave wall, content, and closes his eyes.

_He's floating, on a platform shrouded in white mist. A lone wooden alter and an elderly looking man wearing a Fire Nation uniform with glassy white eyes stands behind it, his arms held up as if welcoming Sokka. Relief washes over him, and though Sokka can't recognize the man, his legs move on their own accord, dashing towards the Fire Nation man as if he is Sokka's own father._

_Suddenly, there are many people, his sister, Katara, and his father seated in the front with many other faces in the background, some Sokka can recognize, others that he cannot._

_A thought suddenly strikes him, the thought that this wedding could be for his fiance, Yue, and him, and he breathes a deep sigh, calming down slightly. He's dressed in all green, however, from the color of his tunic, the tips of his shoes, and the hue of the buttons on his vest all varying shades of green and light brown._

_Music explodes from the background and Sokka pushes this fact to the back of his mind, looking up. The bride is gliding down the steps, arm-and-arm with a man Sokka doesn't recognize._

_The man is wearing a Fire Nation outfit similar to the man at the altar's, decked in red and black.._

_The curly crest of the Fire Nation flame is emblazoned on the man's chest._

_Sokka dismisses it when the bride, her face obscured by the white sheet covering her face steps into place next to him. She's dressed in blue, a low collar dress that falls down to the floor and delicately drapes across defined shoulders. She's a head shorter than Sokka, which Sokka vaguely thinks is weird, seeing as Yue's head usually reaches at least to his nose._

_His arms move again without his consent, pushing the white sheet up and over the bride's head._

_In his mind, Sokka is reeling. It's not Yue's soft, kind features, but a girl with a pair of rosebud lips puckered into a slight smile. Her eyes are glassy like the Fire Nation man standing behind the alter, but unlike the pure, milky white of the man behind the alter, the girl's are a pale green, big and luminous framed with dark, long lashes._

_She twists her face into a smirk, "Having second thoughts, Snoozles?"_

He shoots up, his heart clenching. The fire had long since burned out, smoke trailing out of the cave in silvery grey swirls. The tundra is quiet, rather than the loud whistling of the wind as previous.

He shakes his head, and then sighs, pulling on his parka and getting up, getting ready to head back out.

He thinks of Yue, beautiful, perfect Yue with silvery-white hair that gleams like moonlight, who is waiting for Sokka back home.

In the coldness, he forgets everything about the dream.

* * *

**Toph**

Shou-Ling.

It means winner.

Superior. Champion.

Fulfill-er of expectations.

Not a disappointment.

Toph's baby brother will inherit the throne, will be paraded proudly in front visiting dignitaries, and will probably have his own pick of wives.

Just because his eyes are not glassy and unseeing.

Toph didn't think it was possible to hate an infant so much.

Her parents even gave Toph's little brother more syllables.

He will grow to be handsome, but he's currently wailing against his father chest, slamming tiny, balled fists against the green fabric King Lao is wearing. An unimpressive tuft of black hair, and his chubby cheeks have pink splotches splashed across them. His teeth had only recently come in, and he's wrapped in a light green shawl and then had a white traditional cap placed on him.

The cap falls to the ground, and a servant swoops in and picks it up, placing it back on Shou-Ling's head.

Eemi brings out a tray of items, and sets it down before the King. Poppy takes Shou-Ling out of the King's arms, placing the chubby baby in front of the tray.

"In celebration of my son's first birthday, we will now perform the tradition of the Choosing," Lao says to the party guests milling about in the ball room.

Toph pulls back more behind the secret passageway she's watching the party from, holding her breath when people pass by her hiding spot in an attempt to get closer to the where the ceremony is taking place up on the dais.

The room is quiet, only interrupted by the crackling of flames in the torch-holders. Shou-Ling gurgles, and looks over the tray.

There is a stack of gold coins, a bowl of rice grains, long stalks of wheat, a paintbrush. The audience is transfixed by the movements of the baby's fat arms swooping over the items on the tray.

He grabs the paintbrush, and the audience claps appreciatively.

_"His majesty will be most suitable," _Toph hears someone murmur.

"My first-born has chosen the brush!" Lao proclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in a celebratory manner.

_First-born._

The word lashes at Toph like a knife. She can feel her mother and father's happy heart-beats. They are ecstatic, content. Relieved they've been able to produce a heir.

But Toph is a stubborn, fist-fighting fourteen-year-old. She's proud and haughty and she _will not_ be jealous.

Much less jealous of a fat, slobbering slab of a toddler.

So Toph stays hidden in the dark, her unseeing eyes unknowingly locked with her own brother's gaze.

He blinks at her, and though Toph doesn't know, he smiles and waves a fat fist.

Toph draws back, and disappears into the shadows.

* * *

**Eemi**

"My lady, the representatives from the Southern Kingdom have arrived," Eemi says, bowing her head respectfully.

Poppy looks up from doting on Shou-Ling, and hands him off to a nearby servant, "How many?"

"Three, a man, and his son. I believe the son is only a little older than Toph," Eemi says. Her voice grows a little louder as her bravado increases, but at the same time it quivers in fear at the anticipation of her next move "Perhaps now would be a good chance to explore the pool of possible fiances for Toph."

Poppy's eyes cloud with anger, "You should know your place, Eemi, it wouldn't do well for a women of such low stature to speak out against the Queen."

Eemi bows her head, "I apologize, your Majesty. I was just worried about what the future may hold for Toph."

"Toph is nothing but a helpless little blind girl," Poppy hisses, "A mistake. She must be hidden. Protected."

Eemi nods, but when she turns away from the Queen a scowl is deep-set into Eemi's face, "Of course, your majesty."

* * *

**Sokka**

Back down South, the wind blows so hard and the snowfall is so harsh the ground is blanketed with such thick snow that no plants could grow, restricting him to a diet of fish and the meat that Sokka could hunt.

He's been placed three places to the right of King Lao, a clear metal bowl set in front of him. He can't tell what it is, the room is poorly lit with only flickering torches placed along the walls.

There are three spoons on the left of the bowl and three forks to the right. He's never seen so much silver in his life. He looks around, hoping to copy what the King is doing.

The King is looking over his shoulder at some documents being held out to him by a scribe while simultaneously dipping his hands into the bowl delicately.

Sokka fights the urge to scowl or smirk in superiority. The King looks like he's never seen a day outside the castle, with pale skin and a delicate looking complexion.

Advisor Xin Fu is doing the same across from him, so Sokka copies, soaking his hand in the murky water. His hands end up smelling lemony and he shakes them off before realizing he was supposed be drying his hands on the napkin that had been strewn across his lap.

The table they are sitting at is long, seating at least twenty people. Before Sokka can count the people while the conversation and noise lulls, the bowl of water is whipped away and a tiny plate of greens with clear sauce draped over it is placed in front of him. Their are tiny nuts scattered all through the salad, and peas embedded in it that resemble emeralds.

Sokka takes the time while chewing to look up and down the table.

At the far other end of the table is Sokka's father, laughing raucously with the contents of Hakoda's goblet spilling over the sides, blood-red liquid dropping onto the white tablecloth. Shou-Ling, heir to the Earth Kingdom, a chubby, adorable toddler with big eyes and a scrubby tuft of black hair atop of his head sits right next to Poppy.

There's suddenly a large crash. The guards standing in the doorway rush about, searching for the source of the noise and one pulls back a curtain to reveal a wide-eyed girl and the cracked piece of pottery on the floor.

Lao and Poppy both visibly tense, looking at each other.

The chewing noises and polite chattering vaporize in the tense moment.

"Toph, what are you doing up?" Lao asks, breaking the nervous silence.

The girl, Toph, shrugs, acting nonchalant, "I heard a lot of noise and I couldn't resist. I'm sorry, I can go back up if I'm disturbing anything important..." she trails off, glancing meaningfully at where Sokka's dad sits.

Sokka realizes that as the guest, Hakoda currently dictates the situation.

Hakoda shakes his head, "Nonsense. Who's this pretty little thing anyway, Lao?"

"That's just Toph," Poppy says dismissively, but in a firm voice that says the conversation is over.

"Toph, why don't you sit across from Prince Sokka," Lao says, motioning for Adviser Xin Fu to vacate his seat with a jab of Lao's thumb.

Toph complies, and Sokka can finally get a decent look at her. She's pretty, with tender features and pink lips that part open like rose buds. Long thick hair arranged in a simple bun, and she's wearing a simple pea-green tunic that she had hastily thrown on over her white nightgown.

Her eyes are boring into him uncomfortably. They're an unusual milky green-white color, and she doesn't even look down at the food beneath her when eating.

The discomfort must show on Sokka's face because a toothy servant-boy leans over and whispers, _"She's blind."_

The servant is whipped back quickly by a thick hand, dragged by the ear out of the dining hall.

Sokka's a smart guy. He can piece together a puzzle, and this one is mighty interesting.

He'd heard the rumor of a similar story, in the Fire Nation. Ozai had taken the throne by blinding his own older brother. While it was unlikely that Toph had been blinded by her brother as Shou-Ling is only a little over a year old, but being born blind negates her claim to the throne.

The girl is uncharacteristically quiet, and once she finishes the course everybody else had been working on, a plump woman addressed as 'Eemi' whisks Toph away after being shaken up and scolded profusely by Poppy.

Sokka can't help but follow Toph with his gaze as she is pushed out of the dining room discreetly.

* * *

**Aang**

Appa is a beautiful steed, with rippling muscles under his sleek grey coat. Aang tenderly brushes Appa's mane, running calloused fingers through the tangled stands. Appa brays with pleasure, shaking his head up and down, the darker grey hairs flying up and down with each movement. Aang reaches behind him, getting the saddle blanket and saddle. He keeps one hand on Appa's back, while walking behind him, and Appa whinnies.

Appa's saddle is a deep brown, worn white where the paint had rubbed off from continuous use. The saddle, and the sword at the Aang's hip are the only things left of the Air Kingdoms.

He slaps the blanket down, adjusting it over Appa's back and then settling the saddle down on top of it. He ties the straps, tests the stirrups and then moves back to Appa's front, pushing apart Appa's teeth to get the bit into Appa's mouth.

Aang strokes Appa's face, running fingers over the dark grey blaze running down Appa's long face. Appa is breathing heavily out through the nose, and Aang places his forehead against Appa's.

Aang doesn't know what he's going to do next. He's alone. He's all that's left. He shakes his head, dispelling the negative thoughts, and places a steady foot into the stirrup, and then swings his leg up and over the saddle. He wiggles his hips around, adjusting his seat, and then squeezes Appa's sides. Appa shoots forward at Aang's slight touch, and the ground underneath them blurs, the only sound the steady _thurumps _of Appa's hooves on the snow.

The wind nips at his face, and whistles in his ears, and to an outsider, Aang and Appa would appear as a blur on the horizon.

With the air flying through his hair, he forgets that he is last, the only one of the Air Monarchs, and now heir to throne of the Avatar.

His laughter is lost in the breeze, and he gallops into the night.

* * *

**Sokka**

The windows are flung wide open to let in the breeze, Sokka much preferring the cool temperature to the stifling warmth that emanates from the fireplace. He dreams of his love, Yue, back home waiting for him down South. She had traveled a long way to marry Sokka from the North, and though his father had initially disapproved of permeating the royal blood with a common peasant, Sokka had drilled his father for three long years

How these Earth Kingdom prissies manage to survive in this heat is beyond him.

Still, despite Sokka's attempt to make the room cool, sweat still clings to his body, and he had stripped down to his bindings, flinging off his nightshirt and thin pants off to the side.

A sharp, but quiet, knock suddenly sounds on the wooden door to his room. He groggily pushes himself out of bed and lumbers toward the door. He flings it open, about to give whoever it is a talking-to full of so many Southern swears his grandmother would knock him to the Northern Kingdom.

It's the little blind princess. Toph.

Standing, he realizes now how fragile she looks. She's a full head shorter than him, and appears that if he just pushes on Toph's forehead with a finger she'll fall over with her thin frame. Her curves are slight and barely visible under the baggy pea-green tunic.

And she's wearing pants, patchy, droopy brown fabric that gathers around her ankles, which is enough to shock Sokka fully awake.

Clutched loosely in her left hand is a long, wooden staff that's swishing through the air idly.

The moonlight streaming through Sokka's window is reflecting off of Toph's hair.

"What can I help you with, Princess Toph?" Sokka asks formally. He's suddenly aware that he's standing in his bindings, and he can't help but praise the spirits that Toph is blind. He pulls up every memory he can on the etiquette lessons his grandma gave him.

Toph lets out an unladylike snort, "Please, drop the formalities, Snoozles. I've got a favor to ask. A big one."

"Snoozles?" Sokka asks, also taken aback by her casual tone of speech.

The nickname tugs on something in the back of his memory.

"Yeah, I've been knocking for _ages_," Toph stresses, reaching up and pushing her bangs out of her face, "I could hear you snoring from behind the door."

"Um, what can I help you with, Princess?" Sokka asks.

Toph taps Sokka aside with her wooden staff, pushing her way into his room, all the while bumping the wooden staff around everything. Sokka backs up, reaching for his nightshirt on the floor and pulling on pants, his face flushing scarlet.

"What did you need help with?" Sokka asks again, his voice growing with a little more confidence.

"I-I need a favor."

Sokka looks curiously at the girl, "What?"

"When you leave, you need to take me with you," Toph says seriously.

"I don't think it would be my place to be stealing a girl," Sokka says, straightening up and looking down at her, "Much less an Earth Kingdom princess."

"Don't tell me you're _scared," _Toph sneers. She flicks her hair out of her eyes again, the long bangs falling out of her bun.

"I'm not scared," Sokka defends, pulling himself up even more, "I do, however, fear for _your _safety, Princess."

Sokka suddenly scoffs, an anger pooling in his stomach from the audacity of this little girl, "Why can't you just leave on your own?" he spits out viciously.

"My parents tell the guards that I'm one of Father's bastards. They hate me out there," Toph says in a bitter voice, she then rounds on him, a fury etched into her features, "We're only two years apart, Prince," Toph says, and the title rolls off her tongue like a venomous curse, "Do not act so high and mighty."

Toph pushes her bangs out of her face again, her face suddenly constricted with a sad sigh, "I need to get away," she stands up straight, with all the grace of the princess she had been born as, and with the moonlight reflecting off her silhouette in the background, she looks almost angelic. She turns her face towards Sokka, her smooth cheekbone moving sharply, "You can understand that, can't you?"

Sokka hesitates before shaking her head, a guilt pooling in his stomach and then another pang of slicing remorse going through him when he realizes-again-that Toph cannot see, "I can't. It wouldn't be proper.

"_Proper," _Toph spits, and the word hits the air with force, "That's seems to be the root of all my problems at the moment.

She shakes her head, a professional, composed expression sliding into place onto her face, like clockwork, "I apologize for disturbing your slumber, Prince Sokka," she bows her head, like a proper princess, "Please return to sleep."

The door slams behind her with a loud _bang._

* * *

**Toph**

"Lady Toph, your stance-" Xin Fu begins but shakes his head, "Please pardon me, I'll just-"

He cuts himself off again, walking towards where Toph is squatted with her arms held out, palm up, sword grasped tightly in her other hand, Xin Fu pushes her feet further apart, and then taps her arms closer together.

"Now then, Lady Toph, I've place a practice dummy in front of you," Xin Fu guides Toph's free palm to where the practice dummy is in front of her patronizingly, "Try hitting it."

Toph rolls her eyes, and then pretends to concentrate very hard and with an easy flick of her wrist, however, the sword flies through the air, circling and weaving in out and whacking at the dummy.

Xin Fu claps, beaming, "Well done, Lady Toph. Now then, I think we have had enough exertion for today. I have a meeting with your father."

He stalks off, and Toph refrains from throwing the sword at Xin Fu's head.

* * *

**Katara**

It's cold in the throne room. Even Katara, the icy Princess of the South, will admit that. Goose flesh prickles her forearms and Katara politely asks a maidservant to fetch her another cloak.

It's looks like Sokka and her father will not be returning before nightfall. She stalks over to the huge, roaring fireplace, and she looks majestic in the flickering firelight, swathed in many different furs.

There's a sudden sharp rapping on the door, and a guard rushes forward, glancing towards Katara for permission to open it.

Katara nods, and the guard pulls the double doors open.

The silhouette of a boy who can't be that much younger or older than Katara stands in the doorway, and behind him, the most magnificent horse Katara's ever seen.

Katara stands, straightens her crown, "What is your business here, traveler."

The stranger steps into the flickering light of the torches lining the walls, and Katara's breath is nearly knocked out of her when she sees the characteristic blue tattoos inked on the man's head and running down his arms.

"I am Prince Aang, of the Air Monarchs."

* * *

**Toph**

A dirty brown cloak is drawn around her face, hiding her features from view. A group of villagers pass her, and she whips back, her head slamming onto the clay-brick pillar of the arch she's leaning against. They pass by, chattering aimlessly.

_"What do think of the new prince?"_

_"Please, he'll grow up to be a spoiled and cruel despot like the lot of them."_

One of them spits on the ground angrily, _"Tyrannical twats. Lao's too high and mighty to get his head out of his arse and Kuei's too busy with that queer daughter of his and his pet bear to really rule."_

The conversation fades away.

Toph pulls her hood up and wraps it around her, leaving only her milky green eyes. She had borrowed a tunic from Eemi, and it droops around her, more fit for Eemi's plump figure. She looks like a beggar boy.

There's so many noises. The wooden staff clutched in her hand clutters to the ground, and a panic seizes her chest, fear striking her. Too many people. Too many feet thudding on the ground. Her head is pounding, and to an outsider, there's a cloaked figure spinning in the middle of the town square.

_"What's wrong with that boy?"_

_"Should we call some guards?"_

A strong arm grabs her, and Toph reels, startled.

A warm, raspy breath tickles her neck, and she fights it, stories of young girls with their virtue stolen from them told to her by Eemi, _"Play along, m'dear."_

Her stick is gently placed back in her hand, and she grips it tight.

Toph can feel the person grabbing her back up, "Granddaughter, I've been looking all over for you! Come, your mother is worried sick."

_Granddaughter - this must be an old person - an old man, telling by voice._

She is pulled away, dragged by a firm hand on her upper arm, and she can't run away, unless she wants to use her stick as a weapon or kick an old person in the shins.

"Where are you taking me," Toph asks, and she pretends to maintain a voice of steady confidence, but her voice wavers and she curses her own weak resolve.

"To the Jasmine Dragon," and the voice, Toph notes, is crackly and wizened.

The Jasmine Dragon. A wildly popular chain of tea shops throughout the Earth Kingdom, with its flagship store in the kingdom of Ba Sing Se.

Toph wrinkles her nose, "For tea?"

She ran away to get far away from those formalities, those stuffy old men stroking their beards and drops of scalding liquid dripping onto Toph's skirt as she struggles to maintain a calm demeanor.

"Of course not, for the privacy."

Time blurs as she's led to the Jasmine Dragon, and then she's led through a series of doorways. A foreign sense of fear is beginning to gnaw at the base of her stomach, and her heart is thudding in her ears and her head is still spinning.

There's still too many noises and scents for Toph to get her bearings.

Spirits, she hates these big cities.

"Sit, m'dear," the voice says again, and she sits.

Her head clears, since she is finally able to breathe. She's in a room, and she tell there's two other men in the room, both wizened old men by the sound of their breathing patterns.

"Who are you?" Toph barks authoritatively.

The stranger Toph hadn't yet heard from speaks up, "This one is very feisty, Bumi, what did you pick her for?"

"She reminds of someone," Bumi says, after a pause, "And Lord knows I must take pity on the blind."

"What?" Toph says, offended, and then she adds irritably, "Explain to me what's going on."

"M'dear, I am King Bumi, the ruler of Omashu," Bumi explains patiently, "And I've just decided to adopt you."

Toph mulls this information over, and then turns to where she approximates the other guy is, "And who're you?"

"Just Iroh, the blinded dragon of the Fire Nation," the other man says in a languid tone, as if he'd said this many times before.

The man's voice is gravelly, and Toph pictures a pudgy man wrapped in fine silk robes with a cup of tea cupped in his two hands, which are shiny with burn scars.

"I can tell you are also not possessed with the gift of sight like Iroh," Bumi prods kindly, non-verbally asking for a introduction as well.

"Yep," Toph says, her lip popping on the 'p'. Her voice is in a tone that expresses the fact that would _not _like to expand upon her blindness, "I'm Toph. I just, um, ran away from home."

"And where is - um, _was _- this home of yours?" Iroh asks.

Toph jerks her chin towards where she knows the castle is looming, towering over the peasants milling around in the village square outside the Jasmine Dragon, "The castle. Lao Beifong is my father."

"I did not know Lao's bastard was blind," Iroh says in a hushed tone.

"I'm not," Toph interjects, her pride bristling in outrage.

"Blind?" Bumi says, asking for clarification.

"Lao's bastard. I'm his legitimate daughter," Toph says bitterly, "They kept me a secret."

"Well, I was in Gaoling to give my blessing to Shou-Ling," Bumi explains, "But I think having tea with this young lady would be much better than going to any stuffy ol' ceremony."

"I much agree. I will have Zuko make us a fresh pot of jasmine," Iroh says.

* * *

**Azula**

The grove where Azula is currently burning a sacrifice is quiet, the air tense with a buzzing electricity. The trees are waiting with bated breath for something, and not even the sound of leaves rustling is present. A bird twitters, but the sound is far away.

Azula shoulders her uneasiness, placing the delicate slayed lamb on the stone altar. She beckons to the priestess dressed in red Fire Nation colors hands her a wooden stick covered in a white cotton. Azula smashes the pieces of flint together, and a few small sparks fly out, lighting the wooden stick.

She slowly walks towards the lamb on the alter, taking steady steps, eyes on the flame. She sets the torch down, and then the lamb lights up, and thick, black smoke begins rising in the air.

Azula's eyes are watering from the smoke, but she blinks hard, and raises her arms high, a wide smile plastered on her face.

"My fellow sisters, we honor our sister spirit that guards us in our virtue, Lady Artemis of the Moon!"

There are cheers from the clumps of priestesses surrounding Azula.

A lady claps dryly beside Azula, "No sex, no fun, oh joy."

Azula turns and gives the lady a dry glare, "Shut it, Mai. Ty Lee, bring out the wine."

Ty Lee, a girl dressed in loose red robes giggles girlishly and somersaults away, laughing, "Of course, Princess Azula."

She turns back to the solemn faces of the rest of the women.

"Artemesians, my fellow sisters," Azula says, and she makes sure her voice is thick with emotion to convince them, "We have succeeded by vanquishing the Air Nomads, savages that Lady Artemis had instructed me to take out. With your assistance, a new era will be born – the era of the Artemesians. No longer will we cower behind the supposedly stronger men. We are as quick-witted and strong as them, if not more. I was a better fighter and archer than my own older brother, but my father refused to name me heir to throne. Then, my brother disappeared, along with my outcasted Uncle, and now, my father will recognize my claim to the throne, on one condition," Azula pauses, gauging the reactions of the crowd.

All eyes are locked on her, enraptured with the dreams of power. She smirks inwardly and continues.

"We must kill the last Air Monarch, Prince Aang," Azula says. She hisses his name, and the other women nod, Azula's own hatred for the boy carrying over to them, "He is not only the last Air Monarch, but the heir to Avatar throne. There is a reason, ladies, that the Avatar throne has remained empty for so long. We do not need another tyrannical, corrupt despot aimed to bring down the Fire Nation's quest for conquest down! Prince Aang must _not _take the throne."

"Oooh, what's the plan, Princess Azula?" Ty Lee, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Azula smiles, her red lips gleaming, "We are heading to the Southern Kingdom first. They will be the easiest to intimidate."

* * *

**Toph**

Toph sits demurely on the chair, her long black hair tumbling down her rigid back, her eyes fixed in front of her. Her mouth is set in a grim line, and her eyes crease in pain every time the maid-servant runs the brush through her hair.

Toph misses Eemi.

Her hair is twisted into a bun, with a braid around it, and then she's asked to stand. Toph feels a skirt being wrapped around her wrist and then tied in a neat bow. She tugs on the thin cotton of her undershirt under her skirt, but the servant moves her hand away and slips her arms through the thin sleeves of the skirt. Toph's forced into a tunic, and then pulled back to the vanity. There's a pressure on her shoulders, and she sits down.

Calloused hands are touching her hair again, and she fidgets slightly, feeling something cold and metal being slid into her hair. She is very fetching, and as a final touch, dabs of perfume and incense added to the blue veins on her wrists and then just underneath her ear.

"Do you-"

The question dies on the maid's lips, as the realization of Toph's blindness sinks in.

Toph stands up, maintaining all of her dignity, "It's fine. Thank you. You're dismissed."

* * *

**Azula**

The bow gripped tight in Azula's left hand is tingling, her fingers wiggling. A heavy mist surrounds the boat, and Azula tugs at the collar sticking out of her armor, and she snaps her fingers, whipping her head around and watching the servant rush forward with a thick fleece blanket clutched in her arms and then wrap it around Azula's shoulders.

The mist dissipates, and Azula pushes the blanket off her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. The cover of darkness is thick and Azula misses the beating power of the sun on her neck that is always present back home. The air is icy and every breath in rattles her rib cage and makes her shiver in anticipation.

"Your Majesty, we've arrived," a hushed, unsure voice said.

Azula nodded, "Get me my helmet."

She was a formidable sight, stomping down the ramp decked in great metal armor and clambering down the steps. Her lips are pursed in a tight smile, anticipation glinting in her eyes.

She holds up her fist for a moment, surveying the quiet Southern Kingdom village. Smoke rises from one of the houses, and the snow absorbs the sound of the footsteps of the soldiers behind Azula. She savors this quiet picture, breathing in deeply through her nose, and then letting it go.

Princess Azula turns, and nods. The soldiers rush forward, most of them female, wildly swinging their swords in the air and storming into various homes. Lights flicker on, one by one, screams and shrills of terror as throats are slit and blood splatters the white snow.

Scarlet liquid pools onto white, mixing and making a delightful shade of pink.

"Ty Lee, Mai, with me," Azula says, setting her shoulders back and marching to where the modest castle stands at the far end of the village.

_Hardly a kingdom, _Azula scoffs in her head, ducking a flying fist and delicately stepping over a few overturned bodies on the floor.

The guards at the gate are disposed of easily, with just two knives hidden in Mai's sleeves. Mai pulls them out in a deadpan, almost bored, fashion.

"Where is Prince Sokka? He's _so _dreamy," Ty Lee, says giggling and cartwheeling around the courtyard.

"Ty Lee, focus. He's the _enemy _remember?" Mai says, juggling a small throwing knife between her fingers.

Azula ignores them and plows forward, her goal set on the blue double doors in front of her. She pushes them open, disappointed to not see the disgustingly uncivilized little Southern princess cowering on her knees.

Azula had planned this accordingly. Prince Hakoda and Sokka were on a tour of the Earth Kingdoms, and the only ones left was the wizened old queen and their pathetic little princess. Azula's lips curved into a slight smile, however, when she saw the wizened old lady sitting on the throne, knuckles white from clutching the wooden armrests.

A delicate crown of clear crystal is perched atop curly white hair.

"What do you want, Fire Nation scum," the Queen hisses, "You have no right to invade my realm. This is trespassing, and an automatic declaration of war."

Azula fights to keep the excitement and adrenaline bubbling in her chest off her face.

"Why, Granny, we just wanted to say hello," Princess Azula says, examining her nails and pretending to be bored with the conversation.

"Get out! Get out of here!" the old lady shrieks, standing up and walking down the steps from where the throne is on a raised dais and down to where another dead guard lays, his sword discarded.

Azula watches her curiously, amused, "You're an old lady with nowhere to go, what do you think you're going to do? You're precious son and grandson are both not going to be here for _weeks, _and by then, my fellow sisters and I will have overtaken you're little shack town."

"Sisters?" the old lady mutters defiantly, "You're no sisters. You're inbred horrors, only capable of spreading fear and lies."

"But you have to admit, we're quite good at it," Azula says, now stalking towards the Queen and knocking aside the sword clutched in her hand easily and raising the bow and arrow, aimed directly for the throbbing vein in the Queen's neck.

"What do you want," the Queen says finally, slowing raising her hands in the air in surrender.

"The Avatar," Azula says, setting down her bow arm and slinging it easily over her shoulder. She reaches into her pocket, getting out a shiny dagger. She tosses it behind her fingers.

"Tch," the Queen spits, "I'd rather die. He is the key to peace."

"Azula! Look what we found!" Ty Lee suddenly says gleefully, skipping down the hallway with Mai behind her. Mai has knife pressed against the nape of the neck of a pretty lady with snow-white hair and glistening blue-purple eyes.

Tear tracks are visible on the lady's face.

"Well, will you look at that," Azula says, cackling, "Isn't this your future granddaughter-in-law? I do believe I have seen at her at multiple functions. The pretty little Northern Kingdom representative who took all the attention away from _me."_

Princess Azula moves away from the old lady, nodding toward Ty Lee who prances over, smiling widely and holds the arms of the Queen back, effectively limiting her movement.

"You know,I hate to admit it," Azula whispers, and she presses the knife into the supple skin of Yue's face, smiling in glee when fat red drops ooze out, splattering the ground.

Yue lets out a cry of anguish, the pain causing her vision to go white.

"Oh, shush," Azula says, "You're being a baby."

Azula pushes Mai away, and pulls Yue's face towards hers, pushing her to the ground and kicking her in the stomach.

"Stop it! I tell you where he is!" the Queen finally cries, unable to stand it, "Please, stop."

The Queen continues to blubber hysterically as Yue is moaning on the floor, clutching her face. Blood is pooling on the floor, permeating the air with its metallic scent.

"Azula, maybe you should-" Mai begins, a sick look on her face.

Ty Lee is looking away, breathing shallow, her braid whipping in the wind.

"Silence," Azula commands, and Mai and the Queen stop, Mai abruptly, while the Queen just takes a deep breath and chokes back a sob. The crystal crown teeters on the Queen's head, and falls to the ground, shattering. The Queen swallows another wave of tears.

Azula kneels down to Yue, smiling, "You know, I only meant to say hello, but I've decided that I'll give you a lecture as well. What a treat."

She whips her head towards where Mai is struggling to not let the fear flit over her face, "Mai, be a dear and tell them what a great _treat _it is."

"I-it is a great treat for you all," Mai stutters, dropping her composure for a split-second.

Azula smiles, tossing her bow and quiver off her shoulder and letting it clatter to the floor.

Mai and Ty Lee both wince at the noise, the sound rattling off the metal stone walls of the castle.

Azula caresses Yue's cheek tenderly, as if repenting the damage she had done to the other one, "You know, Yue, you guys up in the North weren't going to be able to keep your little democracy experiment a secret forever. You don't think people weren't wondering why instead of King Pakku they sent _you? _The Fire Nation is mighty-" Azula drew her hand with the knife in it precisely across Yue's cheek, leaving a thread-like red line before it began oozing out blood, "and will not stand for peasants like you receiving power."

Azula stands, up, fixating her cold glare on the Queen. Ty Lee had long ago stopped restraining her, horrified by Azula's actions. She smirks, turning back to the shivering Yue.

Azula leans in until her lips are grazing the corner of Yue's ear.

"Let me tell you something, you filthy scum," Azula says, her hot breath tickling Yue's cochlea, "People are not _handed _power, nor can anyone _earn _it. True power, the divine right to rule, is something you're _born _with."

Azula stabs Yue in the stomach, and Yue manages to choke out a mangled sob.

"_Democracy_," Azula says, laughing, "It makes me sick. Don't worry though, Yue," Azula mock-curtsies, "It'll only scar that pretty face of yours. I'm absolutely _sure _your fiancé won't mind. I mean, he only raved about your beauty at the function to my uncle and I for nearly fifteen minutes."

Azula guffaws, pretending to come to a sudden humorous realization, "But that's right – didn't the people only vote for you back in the North because you were a pretty face? What are they going to do now? Their precious, pretty politician, reduced to lump of scar tissue."

She shakes her head, as if lamenting the thought.

"You're a _monster," _the Queen says, rushing over to Yue and ripping off her purple cloak and wrapping it around Yue's abdomen.

"Why, you're Highness," Azula says, smiling coldly, "you're making me blush. I'm no monster," She peels off the bloodied gloves on her hands, dropping them onto the floor, "Monsters have shame."

* * *

**ENDNOTES**

* * *

Appendix

**The Earth Kings**

The Earth Kings are a trio of kings that have split the vast Earth Kingdom into their own domains. They are a mostly peaceful and neutral people, preferring to stay out of wars and conflicts.

King Bumi - One of the three Earth Kings; the highest in ranking among the Earth Kings; a bachelor, with no named heir apparent; rules over the region of the vast Earth Kingdom known as Omashu, which extends from the Ye Shi Canyon and the Serpent's Pass; a man of seventy-four

King Kuei - An equal in power with King Lao; rules over the stronghold Ba Sing Se, which is in the middle in between King Bumi's region and King Lao's region; a man of thirty-seven

_his wife, _Queen Kori **[deceased]** - the deceased wife of Earth King Kuei and mother of Princess Yi Ming; died at the age of twenty-two

_their daughter, _Princess Yi Ming - the daughter of King Kuei and the heir to the throne; a girl of fourteen

King Lao - An equal in power with King Kuei; rules over the small but bountiful region of Gaoling, the most southernmost region of the Earth Kingdom; a man of forty-three

_his wife, _Queen Poppy - the wife of King Lao; a woman of thirty-eight

_their daughter, _Princess Toph - born blind, kept hidden deep in Lao's castle in Gaoling; a girl of fourteen

_their son, _Prince Shou-Ling - named heir to the throne in place of his blind older sister; a boy of one

**The Fire Nation**

The Fire Nation are renown as ambitious, power-hungry, and some of purest blood, often marrying only noble blood. They refuse to recognize the female ruling figure, and successfully ended the existence of the Air Monarchs.

King Ozai - the King of the Fire Nation; second son of Azulon, the previous ruler; took power by blinding his older brother, Iroh; a man of forty-six

_his wife, _Queen Ursa - the Queen of the Fire Nation; great-granddaughter of the King Roku, of the Avatar Kingdom; a lady of thirty-nine

_their son, _Zuko - the son of the Ursa and Ozai; mysteriously vanished when he turned twelve; would be a young man of nineteen

_their daughter, _Azula - the daughter of Ursa and Ozai; hailed as a fighting and archer prodigy; a lady of seventeen

_his brother, _Iroh - the eldest son of Azulon, and once proper heir to the throne; once a fearsome warrior until blinded by Ozai; disappeared at the same time as Zuko, said to have kidnapped him in revenge to get back at Ozai for taking away his birthright; would be a man of forty-nine

**The Southern Kingdom**

These Southerners are adapted to very cold weather, living at the most southernmost portion of the land, a common racial slur against them is to call them uncultured and without manners

Queen Kanna - one of the last two benders of the Southern Kingdom; a lady of ninety-one

_her husband, _King Pakku - rules the North while his wife rules the South; a man of ninety-one

_their son, _Hakoda - heir to the throne when Kanna dies; a man of thirty-three

_her grandson, _Sokka - the eldest son of Hakoda and his wife, Kya; a man of sixteen

_her granddaughter, _Katara - the daughter and second child of Hakoda and his wife Kya; a lady of fifteen

**The Northern Kingdom**

Not much is known about these Northern warriors, other than the name of the current monarch

King Pakku - rules the North while his wife (see above) rules the South; a man of ninety-one

**The Air Kingdom**

All of the known Air Kingdom and the remnants of their people were wiped out by the Fire Nation. The last documented, known Air Kingdom was the air-bender Aang, who was also the last and true heir to the land ruled over by the Avatars

**The Avatar Monarchs**

The last known Avatar was also the last Air Monarch, Aang, who disappeared when the Fire Nation attacked the Air Kingdom; no body was recovered, so Aang is still considered to be alive, however nobody has been able to find him

Non-canon (Not in ATLA) Characters:

Eemi - the head servant of the Beifong family; one of the few who know of Toph's existence and Toph's ability to 'see' using Earthbending

Prince Shou-Ling - the second child of Lao and Poppy Beifong; named heir apparent to the throne; name inspired by the Chinese word for 'winner' taken from _Google Translate_

Princess Yi Ming - the daughter of King Kuei; to take over the throne after the King Kuei's death; named inspired by an obscure ATLA past Earth monarch of the same name

Queen Kori - deceased wife of King Kuei; name inspired by ATLA comic character Kori Morishita of the same name

* * *

Elements of Story: **(warning *spoilers*; also, not required to read to understand the story)**

"The Choosing" - the ceremony done for Shou-Ling's first birthday is a traditional Korean ceremony performed for babies when they have their first birthday; said to predict which path they will take later in life; choosing the brush (or writing implement) means that Shou-Ling is predetermined by the god(s) to have great intelligence and cunning

"Your Highness" vs. "Your Majesty" - I read somewhere that "Your Highness" is used for a person of the highest stature, while "Your Majesty" is used for someone of high stature, but not the highest stature; you may ask why I used "Your Highness" in reference for Lao in the beginning of the story, I assumed it is used when in reference to the highest ranking in the room, which in that case was Lao

"The Ordering of Power in the Earth Kingdom" - in the ATLA universe, Kuei, as I understand, is the higher ranking; I'm unsure if that's correct, but either way, in this story, the Earth Kingdom is ruled by three kings: Bumi, Kuei, and Lao; Lao is not a king at all and Bumi was only the king of Omashu, but a little creative rearrangement was taken for the purpose of this story – therefore, Bumi is the highest ranking King, and then Kuei and Lao are of equal rank

"Ages of the Characters" - in _A Song of Ice and Fire_ universe, Sansa is eleven when she is betrothed and Joffrey (her betrothed) is twelve; I wanted to remain true to the series by keeping as many elements from both as possible, but I still didn't feel comfortable orchestrating a romance between the younger characters (ahem, namely, Toph, Aang) with such a huge age gap between them, namely Sokka and Katara, respectively; fourteen for Toph and sixteen for Sokka may still be a little young, I mean, it would be like a freshmen dating a junior in high school, but it _is _based off of elements from _A Song of Ice and Fire_

"Lady Artemis of the Sky" – Artemis, in classic Greek mythology, is the goddess of the moon and the hunt; she also swore to be a virgin, and the Artemisians (in this story) are acolytes that have sworn to follow Artemis down the path and devote their lives to the hunt

"Azula's Dialogue" – two of Azula's lines, "…divine right to rule…" and "…monsters have shame…" are inspired by lines from Avatar the Last Airbender and the NBC show Community


End file.
